Common to almost all Pagan/Witch/Wiccan
traditions is the concept of the Watchers or the Keepers or
the
Guardians. They are known by many names in many traditions.

In the
teaching of various cultures, these entities are called by many
names including:

Agents

Angels

Conscious Thought Forms

Creative
Energies

Devas

Fathers

Fountains

Gates

Governors

Hands of God

Lords

Shining Ones

To some Strega they are known as the Grigori.

Each of these 'Watchers' is responsible for their 'area' of
the ritual circle. They are multi-faceted beings. Not only do they
'watch' your workings, they are the guardians of the Air of that
specific direction, and they guard their portals between the Worlds.
They are the intermediaries between Gods and humans.

I personally believe that the Watchers will watch over us if we are
initiated or not. I do not think the Watchers are so petty as to see
who is initiated and who is not. Some Strega believe this is true.

They believe that their actions within the ritual space are going to
be viewed and 'judged' in a different way because they have gone
through the initiation process and have bonded with the Watchers. I
don't think anyone can just say that because they are an initiate,
they are closer to some deity than someone that isn't.

I believe you
bond with the Grigori/Watchers/Keepers over a period of time... like
you do with friends.

The Watchers will not stop a working, we are each responsible for
our actions. All workings are noted and we all need to think about
what we do - before - we do it.

I personally view the Watchers as a
sort of 'consciousness' whereby I weigh the aspects for what I wish
to do and the consequences thereof. They are protectors of the
ritual circle. We EVOKE (to summon or call forth) the presence of
the Watchers at our ritual circle but we INVOKE (to address in
prayer) their nature within ourselves. It is 2 different things.

This page has grown and has exceeded what I originally intended. I
have tried to show the Watchers in many cultures, and still maintain
the Stregheria and Italian flavor of this website.

The Anunnaki are
regarded by some as the Sumerian ‘fates’.
They are spoken of in the Bible as the 'Anakim' and 'Anak' or 'Nefilim'
(nephilum). 'Nefilim' (nephilum) in Hebrew means 'giants' or 'those
who have fallen'.

For reference I offer:

The King James Bible

Young's Literal translation

HSV (Hebrew Names version)

ASV
(American Standard version)

RSV (Revised Standard version)

Numbers 13:22, 28 & 33; Deu
1:28, 9:2

To the Egyptians, the Watchers are,

Ptah

Anubis

Osiris

Horus

The Egyptians wrote they came to Egypt from Ta-Ur, the 'Far/Foreign
Land'. The Egyptian term 'Neteru' means 'guardians'.

The Watchers were a specific race of divine beings known in Hebrew
as 'nun resh ayin' or 'irin' meaning 'those who watch' or 'those who
are awake', which is translated into Greek as Egrhgoroi egregoris or
grigori, meaning 'watchers'.

The early books of the Bible speak of
some vague heavenly beings called malochim (singular, malach).
Although malach is usually translated 'angel', its literal meaning
is 'messenger.'

'.....In the days of Jared', two
hundred Watchers 'descended' on 'Ardis', the summit of Mount
Hermon - a mythical location equated with the triple peak of
Jebel esh Sheikh (9,200 feet), placed in the most northerly
region of ancient Palestine.

On this mountain the Watchers swear
an oath and bind themselves by 'mutual imprecations', apparently
knowing full well the consequences their actions will have both
for themselves and for humanity as a whole.

It is a pact
commemorated in the name given to the place of their 'fall', for
in Hebrew the word Hermon, or harem, translates as 'curse''. 'In
time, each of the 200 took an earthly spouse.

These unions
produced children of extraordinary size, who quickly devoured
the world's food.

To satisfy their enormous appetites, the
angel-children roamed the earth, slaughtering every species of
bird, beast, reptile and fish. Finally, the ravenous creatures
turned on one another, stripping flesh from the bones of their
fellows and slaking their thirst in rivers of blood.

As this wave of destruction washed
over the earth, the anguished cries of humankind reached four
powerful Archangels - Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel, and
Michael - who
upon orders from God enacted a swift retribution.

First Uriel
descended to earth to warn Noah of a coming deluge, advising him
to prepare an ark to carry his family and a menagerie of
creatures to safety.

Raphael then fell upon the leader of
the
Watchers (called Shemyaza), bound him hand and foot, and thrust
him into eternal darkness.

Next, Gabriel charged with slaying
the dissenters' offspring, encouraged the monstrous
angel-children to fight one another.

Finally, Michael trussed up
the remaining Watchers, forced them to witness the deaths of
their progeny, and condemned them to eternal torment.

Only then
did the heavens open up and wash away the last traces of the
destruction that the fallen angels had wrought.'

The Watchers are also portrayed as a
high order of Angels (Archangels), known as Grigori or
Irin.

The
Book of Enoch (which is NOT part of the Hebrew or Christian Bible)
says that God had sent a legion of angels to earth in order to watch
over and subtlety assist man during the beginning of civilization.
However, as Enoch tells us, these angels were not well suited for
the task.

They taught man forbidden sciences such as herb craft,
astrology, divination and sorcery.

For clarification, I offer the following information. The theme of
the Book of Enoch dealing with the nature and deeds of the fallen
angels so infuriated the later Church fathers that one, Filastrius,
actually condemned it openly as heresy.

So the book was denounced,
banned, cursed, no doubt burned and shredded and last but not least,
lost (and conveniently forgotten) for a thousand years.

But with an
uncanny persistence, the Book of Enoch found its way back into
circulation two centuries ago. In 1773, rumors of a surviving copy
of the book drew Scottish explorer James Bruce to distant Ethiopia.

True to hearsay, the Book of Enoch had
been preserved by the Ethiopic Church, which put it right alongside
the other books of the Bible. Bruce secured not one, but three
Ethiopic copies of the book and brought them back to Europe and
Britain.

When in 1821 Dr. Richard Laurence, a Hebrew professor at
Oxford, produced the first English translation of the work, the
modern world gained its first glimpse of the forbidden mysteries of
Enoch.

Many Catholic Pagans or Christian Pagans utilize the 'angels' as
the
Watchers.

Archangel Michael is called
from the North

Archangel Gabriel is called
from the West

Archangel Ariel/Uriel (angel
of wishes and willpower) is called from the North or
East

Archangel Raphael is called
from the South

Originally there were 4 royal stars and
they were called the Watchers.

Each of these stars ruled over one of
the 4 cardinal points.

North - Formalhaut - who marked Winter
Solstice

South - Regulus - who marked Summer Solstice

East - Aldebaran - who marked the Spring Equinox

West - Antares - who
marked Autumn Equinox

Formalhaut (Arabic for 'mouth
of the fish'), is one of the southernmost bright,
first-magnitude stars visible to northern latitudes. It can be
found in the constellation Piscis, and is the 17th brightest
star.

Antares is found in the
constellation Scorpius, and is the 14th brightest star. Antares
is the heart of the Scorpion. Antares gets its name from the
ancient Greeks. It means 'anti-Ares'. Ares is, of course, the
Greek god of War who is also called Mars by the Romans.

Aldebaran is found in the
constellation Taurus, and is the 13th brightest star. Aldebaran
is the red eye of the Bull.

Regulus is found in the
constellation Leonis, and is the 21st brightest star. Regulus in
Latin means 'royalty', 'prince' or 'little king', and is the
brightest star in Leo. Prior to Copernicus, who gave it its
name, it was called Cor Leonis, the heart of the Lion.

The
Persians saw this star as the Watcher in the North and linked
the star to their mythical king Feridun who once, in their
mythology, ruled the entire known world.

NORTH - Earth

Known by these names: Aquilo,
Boreas, Pala, Taga (tah-gah) and Tago (tah-go).

The Guardian of Earth is the
one who 'grounds' us best

Pala translates in Italian
to - shovel

EAST - Air

Known by these names: Alpena
(al-pay-nah), Eurus, Vulturnus, Bellaria and Bellarie

The Guardian of Air seems to
be the most elusive of all the Winds. It can come and go
as it pleases, change at whim, it may produce a calming
effect or hurricane gales

SOUTH - Fire

Known by these names: Auster,
Notus, Settiano (sey-tee-ah-no) and Settrano (say-trah-no)

The Guardian of Fire can
also be elusive. The flames can jump and dance or they
can blow one way or another.

WEST - Water

Known by these names:
Favonius, Manii, Maniae, Meana (may-ah-nah), and
Zephyrus

The Guardian of Water is a
gentle and benevolent force who brings the mild, wet
spring weather